Seat Number 6- Uzumaki Naruko
by NinjaGogeta
Summary: Naruko isn't smart. She isn't tactful. She's not good at magic. But with enough brute force, she figures she can overcome anything. Even if she never masters the art of Onmyōdō, she won't let that stop her from becoming the leader of the Onmyoji sect. But until then, she decides to help a certain bodyguard with her job. It's the least she can do to repay her godfather, after all.
1. Chapter 1

"And so…2-A's Baka Rangers have assembled!"

"Who's a Baka Ranger!?"

Negi Springfield, young teacher of English at Mahora Middle School, gave an awkward smile at the now routine burst of anger from Kagurazaki Asuna, his student, roommate, and unwilling 'leader' of the Baka Rangers, Baka Red. She and five more of his students had stayed behind after school to take part in an after-class study session. They were the six lowest scoring in the class, and had attained the nickname "Baka Rangers" thanks to this.

They were: Ayase Yue—known as Baka Black—a short girl with long hair who often sported dry expressions; Nagase Kaede—known as Baka Blue—a tall girl with short hair and always had her eyes closed; Sasaki Makie—called Baka Pink on account of her pink hair—who wore her gym uniform; Ku Fei—Baka Yellow—a Chinese exchange student who struggled with her Japanese at times; and Uzumaki Naruko—called Baka Purple—who is considered to be on par with Asuna in terms of "Baka Power" and grudgingly accepted the position of second in command.

"So I can't study! So what!" Asuna crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "This school's just an escalator school anyway! It's not like I can't go to high school!"

Fortunately, Negi knew just how to convince her to take part. "But Asuna-san, Takamichi would be sad at how bad your English grades were!"

"Erk!" The mention of her crush and ex-English teacher made Asuna flinch and sprout a full faced blush. "F-Fine. All I've got to do is take the class, right?"

"Hey, so, I don't actually care what Taka-sensei thinks about my grades. That means I can leave, right?" Uzumaki Naruko's words made Negi lose his smile.

"E-Erm, w-well…" Negi trailed off as he looked at her expectant gaze. His mind absently drudged up what he knew about her. 'Seat number 6, Uzumaki Naruko-san…' He wasn't shocked that she said something like that. Already in the short time since he started teaching, he had caught her not paying attention serval times. After the first time he asked her to pay attention, her response caused a chain of events that almost caused a fight between her and the class president, Yukihiro Ayaka. He stopped bothering after that. That aside, her eyes were scary!

Her intense gaze bore into him like it did back then. "So I can go? Great!"

"Oi, Naruko! If I have to do this then you do too!" Asuna snapped, moving to stand between Naruko and the door. "Besides, don't try to act all cool! I know that Takahata-sensei scares the crap out of you! You really want to upset him?"

Naruko flinched. "I-I ain't scared of him!" Despite her words, a bead of sweat rolled down her neck.

"Yet you gave up trying to skip out on these after the first-time sensei caught you." Asuna countered with a smug smirk. "You sure he didn't put the fear of god into you?"

Naruko twitched for a moment. "Feh, whatever." She collapsed into a nearby chair with a huff. The chair creaked from the force. She crossed her arms and glared at Negi. "We doing this or what?"

"R-Right!" Negi gulped, sending a grateful glance to Asuna. 'Looks like I can use Takamichi's name to make her listen as well!' He waited for the rest to take their seats. "First, we'll be having a little test composed of ten marks. You can't leave until you score at least six, ok?"

"This'll be a snap-aru."

"No problem!"

"Very well. Please begin!"

* * *

Naruko stared at the first question, brows furrowed.

[Which sentence is in passive voice?]

'What's passive voice?' She had no idea. 'Is there an aggressive voice? Passive voice sounds like something a loser would use. Not interested.' She moved on to the next question.

[Choose the word that best describes or modifies the adverb in bold.]

'The fucks an adverb?' She skipped that one too.

"I'm done."

"Eh? Already?!"

Naruko wasn't even shocked. Yue always tended to get out of these sessions quick.

"All right! Number 4, Ayase Yue-san. Nine points; you pass! See, you _can_ do it! Why are you even here?"

"…I hate studying…"

"I finished!"

"I'm done, Negi-kun!"

Naruko, half listening, looked back at her sheet. With a shrug, she picked a random answer for each question and stood up to join the rest who had finished. After a couple of minutes of marking, Negi stared at the results with a sweat drop. One 4 and three 3s. Naruko snuck a peak, surprised she guessed that many correctly.

"Huh? What about you, Asuna-san?"

"Ergh…"

Half a minute later, Negi stared with a blank expression at the "2" he wrote at the top of the page.

"O-Okay! Let me give you a few pointers!"

"Yes sir!"

"When I'm done I'll give you the test again."

A few minutes later, Naruko went and chose the correct answers she guessed last time. This time she looked at another question, half-curious if she could get any of them right properly.

[Which of the following sentences is a compound sentence?]

She ticked the second one. Maybe she'd be right this time. Once again, she picked the rest at random, this time finishing first.

"That was fast, Uzumaki-san!" Negi took the sheet and picked up his marking pen with a smile; it quickly became strained.

Taking the paper back, Naruko stared at the underlined "2" with indignation. "Oi, how come my score is worse this time?! I picked the same ones as before, I should at least have three!"

"Erm, this is a different test sheet than before, Uzumaki-san."

"Eh, it is?! How am I supposed to keep guessing until I get all the right answers then?"

"Y-You've just been guessing?!" His glasses slipped down his nose as he gave her a shocked stare.

"Duh, you think I understand any of this shit?"

"A-Ah…" Negi had apparently run out of words. He was saved from having to say any by Ku and Kaede approaching them.

"Sensei, I finished!"

"Ah, number 21, Nagase Kaede-san! Number 13, Ku Fei-san! Both of you scored eight points, you pass!"

The two gave victorious poses. "It best I can do to study Japanese!"

"Ha ha ha." Negi laughed as the two left the room.

"Here, sensei!" Makie handed him her paper.

"Hmm, number 17, Sasaki Makie-san, six points! You just barely pass."

Makie ruffled his hair. "Sorry I'm such a dummy, Negi-kun."

After she left, Negi turned to Asuna, with slight trepidation. "L-Let's see…what about you, Asuna-san?"

A disgruntled Asuna handed him her test, and she looked away as Negi put a big fat "1" at the top of her paper.

"Th-That's alright! When you get the knack for it, you'll have no problem getting eight points! Even I managed to master Japanese in three weeks."

'Yeah rub it in why don't you.' Naruko glared.

"I'll try to be more thorough, so let's do our best for the next question!"

* * *

"I give up! I'm just an idiot anyway…"

"Kill me."

After at least two hours and a dozen tests between them, Asuna and Naruko were ready to give up.

Much to Negi's distress. "Ahhh! Don't give up, Asuna-san, Uzumaki-san!"

"Hey! How's it going in there Negi-kun?" A voice from the window asked. Leaning on the windowsill was Takamichi, looking in with an amused smile. "Oh! Asuna-kun and Uzumaki-kun are here as usual, I see. Don't give Negi-sensei too much trouble, ok?"

"T-Ta-Takahata-sensei!" Asuna freaked out at the man's words, trying to speak through her stammering. "That's not…I mean…this is…"

"Well then, you three do your best now!" And with that the man left, chuckling away.

"Ass." Naruko mutters, voice barely audible with her mouth squished against the desk.

Thankfully, Asuna was too trapped in her own distress to hear her.

"U-Uh, Asuna-san…Um…don't take any notice of him…" Negi, bless him, tried his best to console her. Unfortunately, his best was nowhere near enough to stop the girl running out of the room in tears.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Asuna-san, wait!" However, she was already most of the way down the hall. "Wah! She's fast!" And then, completely forgetting that Naruko was still in the room, he jumped onto his staff that he always carried with him. "ASUNA-SAAAAAAAAN!"

Naruko watched with a blank expression as he zipped out of sight, calling after Asuna as she ran through the halls. She sat up and blinked. Approaching the door, she poked her head out, seeing them nowhere in sight.

"…Guess this means I can finally leave."

"Naruko-san, so this is where you've been all afternoon. I wondered why you didn't turn up for our sparring match."

"Hmm?" Naruko turned the other way to see her best friend approaching her. "Yo, sup Setsuna?"

The dark-haired girl looked past Naruko and down the hallway that Negi zoomed down. "Sensei isn't being very subtle, is he?" She sweat dropped, wearing a bewildered expression.

"Pfft, he totally forgot I was here." Naruko shook her head, smirking slightly. "He's lucky we already know about magic, or he'd be screwed."

"As long as his carelessness does not hurt Ojou-sama, then it's none of my concern." Setsuna narrowed her eyes, as if daring the non-present mage to try anything.

"You worried about your girlfriend's purity, stuck with him as her roommate?" Naruko waggled her eyebrows, getting a fierce blush from Setsuna.

"I-Yo-Kono-cha-I mean, Ojou-sama is not my—urgh!" Setsuna gave Naruko a death glare; her fire engine coloured face took away from her intimidation factor. "Do not insinuate any such things between Ojou-sama and someone like me! I could never be worthy of Ojou-sama. N-Not that I feel that way in the first place! I am merely a bodyguard, nothing more."

"Wouldn't being a bodyguard imply you're with her at all times?" Naruko raised a brow, and Setsuna practically hissed.

"How many times have I told you to drop that subject! Someone like me does not deserve to be too close with Ojou-sama."

Naruko, as always, wanted to call bullshit on that. But she also didn't want to push Setsuna too much. "Yeesh, fine. I'll drop it." She raised her hands in surrender.

Setsuna glared at her for a moment, before taking a deep breathe to calm down. "Thank you." She muttered after a minute, finally getting her emotions under control again.

"Still up for that spar?" Naruko asked. "After being stuck in there for hours, I need to move about a bit. Got plenty of frustration to burn off. I'll buy dinner after too. Make up for making you wait so long."

Setsuna took the peace offering for what it was and nodded. "Alright." The two began walking down the hallway. "It wasn't as if I was waiting around aimlessly, you know? I did some training while I waited."

"Ugh, I wish I'd been training for the last two hours." Naruko's shoulders slumped. "I could have been practicing my Ki control or something."

"You didn't enjoy Negi-sensei's after-class session?" Setsuna wondered, lips twitching at the corners.

"Hell no!" Naruko straightened up and pointed at Setsuna. "That was torture! He didn't even use the same test each time so I couldn't guess them!"

"How terrible of him." Setsuna deadpanned.

"Right!? Anyway it's a total waste of time 'cause I don't even need English to be a super strong mage!"

"Speaking of," Setsuna interjected, "have you even been practicing your magic lately? Every time we train together you just focus on your fighting skills."

Naruko's expression turned abashed. "Er, well…"

Setsuna shook her head. "A mage who doesn't even practice her spells. How will you ever reach your dream without improving your magic skills?"

"Bah who needs them?!" Naruko scoffed, crossing her arms behind her head. "I'll just become so strong that the Sect will have no choice but to make me the leader. And if they don't I'll just kick all their asses and take the position myself. Besides…" Naruko's expression faltered again and she looked away with a pout. "…I ran out of talismans a month ago."

Setsuna shook her head again. "Then ask for some more to be sent from Kyoto." She said, exasperated, thought she couldn't keep the hint of fondness from her tone.

Naruko sighed. "Come on, you know how much those things cost. I don't have that kind of money."

"If you had paid more attention in your lessons, you might have learned how to make them yourself."

"Bah, those lessons were so boring. Plus Amagasaki-sensei was a total bitch."

Setsuna grimaced at the memory of the bespectacled mage. "Ah, yes, she wasn't exactly pleasant."

"Damn monkey-fetishist." Naruko grumbled, kicking at nothing. "Whatever, just forget it. I wanna spar already." The two finally left the building, and Naruko turned to Setsuna with a smirk. "Race you there?"

"Challenging me to a race?" Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "If you want to lose twice this afternoon, sure."

"Oh it's on, bitch." Naruko grinned. "Three…two…GO!" Naruko vanished in a burst of speed.

Setsuna balked. "You cheater!" Setsuna blurred away, chasing after the sound of Naruko's cackling laughter.

Chapter End

* * *

Omake: Kyoto Babies Pt 1

In the middle of a dojo, a small girl was practicing her kendo skills. For the last few hours, she had been swinging her practice blade, drilling them until she could do them in her sleep. Her sensei had told her that once she has mastered all the forms she taught her, she would be able to move onto Shinmei-ryū techniques. Beads of sweat ran down her neck, glittering in the small amount of sun light leaking through the windows. The sound of a door sliding opening registered in her mind, but she ignored it in favour of her training.

"Setsuna-kun, could I have your attention for a moment?"

The young girl paused in her katas, almost losing her grip on her shinai. She turned around and bent down in a perfect right angle of a bow. "Eishun-sama! O-Of course! Please forgive my impertinence!"

She missed the drop of sweat on his forehead. "Now, now, Setsuna-kun, stand up straight. You can't see the person I'd like you to meet like that."

"M-My apologies!" Setsuna then proceeded to stand as upright as possible. She was practically standing on her toes. Now that she wasn't staring at the ground, she could see the new person standing next to him.

It was another girl her age, although she looked a little taller than your average eight-year-old. Her appearance was also like a complete reversal of Setsuna's own. As opposed to her own pale skin tone, the other girl had dark skin. Unlike Setsuna's silky long obsidian hair, hers was like thick straw that sat atop her head and fell to only the nape of her neck. Two blue eyes stared into dark brown, then back at her shinai with a look of awe. To finish her observation, Setsuna noticed three strange whiskers-like marks on her cheeks.

All in all, she looked like nobody Setsuna had ever seen before.

"This is Uzumaki Naruko-kun." Eishun dropped his hand onto Naruko's head, looking amused at her fascination with the training blade. That fascination swiftly turned to annoyance as he ruffled her hair. He chuckled when she batted his hand away, though Setsuna narrowed her eyes at the lack of respect. His amusement was replaced with melancholy as he said, "She's my goddaughter, and she'll be staying with me for a while."

Naruko's irritation vanished as she looked down at the ground. The sad girl didn't react when he returned his hand atop of head.

Setsuna's mind did what it was want to do, and started overthinking things. She put two and two together— "My apologies, Eishun-sama, but I cannot look after someone else at this point."—and got five. "I'm far too busy practicing my kendo, and I've already proven that I am incapable of protecting anyone as I am right now."

"Ah, Setsuna-kun—" Eishun tried to set her straight, but he didn't get the chance to.

"Oi! Who says I need protecting!" The sad aura around Naruko was gone, replaced with a burning anger. She pointed at Setsuna, glaring at her heatedly. "I can look after myself-dattebayo!" She crossed her arms and gave Setsuna a look that had her bristling. "Besides, I doubt a shrimp like you could protect anyone."

"A-Ah, Naruko-kun—" Eishun looked down to Naruko, realising things were going terribly wrong.

Naruko's words had Setsuna's eyes morphing into a livid glare. Her fist tightened around her shinai to the point where to wood creaked. "If it was from someone like you, I could protect just about anything."

"Oi, is that meant to be an insult or something?"

"You figure it out."

"Gah, it definitely was!"

"G-Girls, please—"

"I bet I could kick your ass, even with that little stick you've got there!" Naruko boasted, the previous awe when looking at said "stick" gone. "I bet you're not so tough."

"Please, feel free to try." Her tone made the polite words pointless, for they did nothing to hide her distaste. She got into a stance, holding the shinai with both hands, pointing it directly at Naruko's throat.

"Now come on you two—"

"Gladly!" Naruko ran forward with a yell, much to Eishun's distress.

Setsuna watched as Naruko ran without abandon, pulling back a fist. "Pathetic." She used the tip of her shinai to knock Naruko's fist upwards. Naruko yelped as her arms jolted upwards, only to freeze when the wooden blade stopped an inch away from her neck. "Is that all you've got?" Setsuna raised a brow, very unimpressed.

Naruko growled and grabbed her shoulders. Setsuna didn't have time to react when she had her feet swept out from under her. She landed on her back with a harsh cry. Naruko kicked her shinai out of her hands and stared down at her with a smug look. "Is that all _you've_ got?"

"ENOUGH!" Both girls flinched at Eishun's yell. Instead of an angry expression like they expected, he just looked disappointed. For the first time since they met they were in agreement; this was worse. "I think, that this has gone on long enough." His voice was quiet now, emitting a commanding aura worthy of the chief of the Kansai Magic Association. "Naruko-kun, please help Setsuna-kun up."

Knowing it wasn't a request, Naruko grudgingly held her hand out. Equally as reluctant Setsuna took it. She grunted as Naruko yanked her to her feet, and rubbed her shoulder with a petulant glare.

Eishun sighed. "I was hoping that the two of you might become friends, but I see that I was a little hasty."

"Like I'd want to be friends with a stuck-up sword freak like her." Naruko turned her nose up petulantly.

Setsuna twitched. "Even if I wanted to be friends with someone like _her_ , I don't have the time for such things."

The two girls gave each other nasty looks, before looking away with matching huffs.

Eishun held back another sigh and looked to Naruko. "Well, let's get going, Naruko-kun. Let's leave Setsuna-kun to her training."

"Fine by me." Naruko acquiesced easily, not looking back at Setsuna as she stormed out of the dojo. Eishun watched her leave then turned to Setsuna.

"…Keep up the good work, Setsuna-kun. At this rate, you'll become a wonderful user of the Shinmei-ryū."

Setsuna bowed low. "Y-You humble me with your praise, Eishun-sama. Someone like me doesn't deserve such kindness."

Eishun found he was sighing a lot today. Knowing that whatever he said wouldn't change the girls mind, he left it at that and left after Naruko.

As the door slid closed, Setsuna straightened out of her bow and picked up her sword. Staring at it with narrowed eyes, she nodded and returned to her practice with renewed vigour.

Omake End

* * *

 **So yeah, that was the first chapter of my new Naruto/Negima crossover. I think this is the fifth version since I cancelled Seat Number 32 (the one I uploaded as a preview was the third, I believe). After quite some time, I realised that I was over complicating things way too much. I ended up coming with convoluted back stories just to get Naruko to where she was, and I started spending too much time on them. I'm much happier with this version, as it's very simple now. That simplicity will—in theory—allow me to focus less on the past and more on the present. Way too much of that going on in all the other versions.**

 **Now, you'll notice plenty of differences, not only from the original but also from the preview chapter. That's just how things go in the re-write process. Hopefully, this new story will be better than the shit show that Seat Number 32 turned into.**

 **You might be wondering why Naruko is now Seat Number 6. Well, that's because her second name, Uzumaki, would be sixth on the class register, as it goes in Japanese alphabetical order. That means that everyone after Ako on the register is one number down form their canon positions (e.g., Asuna has gone from #8 to #9.)**

 **I might do the Naruko Question Corner again, but that's only if the demand is high enough. If so, they'll take place after the Omakes, which will be every chapter and will show how Naruko and Setsuna's friendship developed.**

 **Anyway, numerous author's notes have shown that I am terrible with them, so I'll cut this short. I hope you all enjoy the new story. I'm not 100 sure I'm happy with this chapter, but I just really, finally want to get the ball rolling. Feedback and criticism are welcomed and desired. Constructive feedback is ideal, but any review is welcome. Except flames since they're utterly pointless. All they do is make me laugh (on second thought feel free. I enjoy a good laugh.)**

 **Until next time, NinGo out.**


	2. Chapter 2

The morning began, as mornings were wont to do in Room 637, with a great deal of reluctance. Both residents were startled awake by the obnoxious screeching of Hasegawa Chisame's alarm clock; said clock had been placed in the kitchen to avoid retribution in the form of pillows from Naruko's bed, the very fate the four clocks before it suffered. Thus began the game of patience that the roommates played against each other to decide who would be the one to get out of bed and shut the damn thing off. Said 'game' involved both girls covering their heads with their pillows, attempting, in vain, to get a few more minutes of rest, while hoping that the other would do it first.

As was common, Naruko lost patience first. She threw her duvet off with enough force that it landed on Chisame and stomped to the kitchen. Indignant, Chisame shoved off both duvets, inadvertently surrendering herself to the freezing March air. Chisame mentally added this to the ever-growing list in her head titled "Reasons Why I Hate My Roommate Slightly More Than Everyone Else In My Class".

"Why is it so cold?" She moaned, rolling out of bed to check the radiator. The frigid metal made her shiver, and she growled, rubbing the sleep from her eye. "Great, now we need to get someone in to look at the damn thing." She grumbled. Ignoring the issue for now, she trudged into the kitchen for some cereal. Naruko was already putting the kettle on, and Chisame sneered at the carton of instant ramen next to it, but didn't say anything. She shivered again, and instead said, "There better be enough water in that kettle for some tea."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruko said around a yawn.

"You didn't break the radiator, did you?" Chisame asked as she sat down with her cereal, glowering at Naruko over the bowl.

"Oh yeah, cus I'm always going near the damn thing." Naruko rolled her eyes. "You're the one who's in here all day every day; how do I know you didn't break it."

"With your track record, I had to ask." Chisame said before shoving a spoon in her mouth. Swallowing, she said, "I still haven't forgiven you for breaking the shower."

"That was like, one time!" Naruko argued, outraged. "And it was over a year ago. Seriously, you're so uptight. You'd think with all the time you spend rubbing one out, you'd be a bit more chill."

Chisame choked on her cornflakes. She forced her mouthful down—half eaten flakes scratching her throat on the way—to scream, red-faced and livid, "I DO NO SUCH THING!"

"Locked in here all day, every day, and not letting me in except in the evening? Always on your laptop? What you doing if you're not looking up porn?" Chisame deigned not to answer, aside from a vengeful glare. She was saved from further ridicule when the kettle stopped bubbling, and Naruko rushed to pour the boiling water in the carton. Taking an egg timer, she flipped the mini hourglass upside down and slumped down at the kitchen table, staring at the falling sand with vigour. "Instant ramen my ass." Naruko muttered, having completely forgotten the prior conversation. "If it was instant then I wouldn't have to wait; I _hate_ the waiting!"

Chisame rolled her eyes and stabbed her spoon into her bowl. She ate with ferocity, focusing her rage on the act itself rather than the much, much, _much_ stronger girl in front of her. She finished just as the timer ran out, and Naruko crowed with delight as she dug into her ramen.

Chisame took her bowl to the sink, grabbing the kettle on the way. She put it back on, and waiting for the water to bubble again. As she waited, she started drafting an incensed blog post in her head; she couldn't wait to tell her adoring fans about her witless roommate, and to see their wonderfully heartfelt words of comfort.

Once the kettle was done, she took it off and put it to the side, while she went to get a cup. Returning with her favourite mug, she clenched it in anger when she saw Naruko pouring _her_ boiling water into another carton of instant ramen. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"I'm accepting your apology for your rude, baseless accusation." Naruko said, cheerfully flipping the egg-timer over again. "Thanks for the water!"

Chisame's eyebrow didn't so much twitch as it did convulse. Her cup cracked. Her mental list was renamed "Reasons Why I Hate My Roommate More Than Anyone Else In My Entire Life", then added to it. Snatching the kettle, she marched to the sink to refill it.

Naruko snickered into her palm; Chisame was always so easy to irritate. She deserved it, Naruko felt, considering the bespectacled girl blamed Naruko for anything that went wrong around their dorm room. Not to mention locking Naruko out of her _own_ room for hours at a time. She didn't, in all truth, care about the latter part, but it was the principal of the matter.

A knock at the door snapped Naruko out of her mirth. "Just a minute!" She yelled, running over to her suitcase. Ever since Chisame claimed the wardrobe for her own use, Naruko had kept all her clothes in her suitcase. Fortunately for Chisame's already frail state of mind, Naruko didn't put up a fuss about it. So what if her clothes were a little creased form not being hung up? Naruko didn't have many clothes in the first place, and her appearance was the least of her concerns; she cut her hair short for a reason.

After throwing on a fresh uniform and haphazardly tying the ribbon, Naruko ran past a silently fuming Chisame to open the door. Opposite the door was Setsuna, leaning against the stairwells external wall as she waited. "Yo, Setsuna."

"Good morning, Naruko-san." Setsuna pushed off from the wall and waving towards the stairs, encouraging Naruko to go first. The blonde happily did so, slamming the door behind her.

Inside, Chisame flinched at the noise, causing her to miss her cup as she poured the boiled water. She gave a resigned sigh; just grateful, by this point, that it hadn't spilled on her…this time. "Great, looks like I'm not having any tea this morning." Chisame huffed, hurrying to mop up the spill. She didn't have the time to make another cup; but, she grinned, she did have enough time for something else. Moving to the cupboard, she gave an evil smirk at Naruko's ramen collection.

* * *

A short time later, Naruko and Setsuna were walking towards the steps to school. The morning was already starting to warm up, and it showed all the signs of being a pleasantly sunny day. In a rare moment, Naruko had been more than content to silently enjoy the change in temperature, meaning that Setsuna got to enjoy a quiet walk. With Naruko, quite moments were a rare treat.

Unlike their schoolmates, the pair weren't running to school. It had taken a lot of convincing on Setsuna's part, but one day she managed to talk Naruko into setting off earlier than normal so they didn't have to rush to school. Despite the high speeds both can move at, Setsuna enjoyed a slower pace when walking. Naruko had been dubious, but had come around to the idea soon enough. It was a chance for the two to enjoy each other's company in a more relaxed manner than normal; no frantic training and fears of failure getting in the way.

It was thanks to their slow pace that several of their classmates had passed the two by, on their own rushed journeys to school. And, perhaps, if they had been a bit more hurried themselves, Naruko wouldn't have been walking where she was when somebody ran into her back.

Naruko—caught off guard—stumbled, throwing her arms out to the side to balance herself. Setsuna's much smaller frame was an asset here; she only had to duck slightly to avoid a smack in the face. Having regained her balance, Naruko span around, a mighty glare settling on her face. "Oi! Watch where you're going bi-"

"M-My apologies, Uzumaki-san! I wasn't looking where I was going!" Negi yelled from where he had fallen, staring up at her with wide eyes.

Naruko raised a brow as Negi stood and bowed, looking overly stricken about such a minor issue. She had been ready to tear into whoever bumped into her, but seeing him so worked up over it had taken the wind from her sails. "Don't sweat it…" She said, instead, sweat-dropping. 'This brat…he's such a little kid…' As she stared at his bowed form, she was reminded of a meeting she and Setsuna had with the Principal, not long before he arrived at Mahora.

* * *

" _I called the two of you here to inform you of a change in Konoka's living situation."_

 _The Principal's words made Setsuna stiffen and Naruko raise a brow. "What sort of change?" Setsuna demanded, forgetting who she was talking to for a moment. She tacked on a "Sir," a few seconds later, but Konoemon waved it off with a chuckle._

" _She moving rooms or something?" Naruko didn't see why this was any concern of hers, unless… "Are you moving her into one of our rooms?" Setsuna, if it was possible, stiffened further. "Because I don't mind trading for Chisame—she keeps kicking me out of our dorm!"_

" _O-Ojou-sama, in my room…" Beads of sweat formed on Setsuna's forehead and a flush creeped up her neck. "I-I'm not worthy…" The flush rose to the rest of her face as she stared into space._

" _Oi, oi, what are you imagining?" Naruko dead-panned. "What kind of dirty thoughts are you thinking?" She grinned when Setsuna's face went crimson. "Oh hoh! Saucy!"_

" _Ahem." Konoemon coughed into his sleeve, hiding his amusement behind the cloth as Setsuna snapped out of her trance and gave a deep bow, apologising profusely. Naruko snickered as Setsuna repeated the motion several times, before Konoemon coughed again, prompting her to stop._

" _M-My apologies." Setsuna swallowed, attempting to regain some of her lost dignity as well as shake off her self-inflicted dizziness. "You were saying, Konoemon-sama?"_

 _Konoemon bit down a chortle. "Just to be clear, no, Konoka is not moving rooms."_

" _Is it Asuna that's moving, then; can I still swap Chisame?"_

" _No, Naruko-kun, nobody is moving out. It's the opposite in fact; somebody is moving in."_

" _Who?" Setsuna demanded yet again. "Do we have a transfer student? How long until they arrive? What's their background? Where are they from? Are they from Kyoto? What if they're an assassin here to kill Ojou-sama!?"_

" _Are they cute?" Naruko raised her hands in surrender as Setsuna shot her a glare. "Hey, someone's got to ask the real questions."_

" _I can assure you, Setsuna-kun, that there is absolutely no chance that this person is an assassin. Also, they're from the United Kingdom, not Kyoto." He turned to Naruko. "And your classmates might think so, Naruko-kun."_

" _Eh, our classmates?" Naruko blinked and exchanged a look with Setsuna. "Then…"_

" _A BOY WILL BE LIVING WITH OJOU-SAMA!?" Setsuna's eyes alit with a demonic flame, and her sword was suddenly in her hands. "WHO IS HE!? I WILL MAKE SURE HE DOESN'T FEELS THE URGE TO VIOLATE OJOU-SAMA—PERMANENTLY!"_

 _Konoemon paled, catching the girl's intent. "T-There's no need to go to such lengths, Setsuna-kun. Negi-kun will be much too young to have such thoughts."_

" _Young?" Naruko repeated, frowning; Setsuna paused in her righteous fury, giving Konoemon a dubious look. "Why the hell is a young boy going to be living with Konoka and Asuna?"_

 _Konoemon cleared his throat, the colour in his face returning. He straightened and in turn looked them both in the eyes. "A boy by the name of Negi Springfield recently graduated from the magical academy in Wales. As is the norm for a graduate of the academy, Negi-kun has been given a job that will serve the purpose of training him to someday become a Magister Magi."_

" _A what?" Naruko asked. One could practically see the question mark floating above her head._

 _Setsuna remained silent, but it was obvious she was paying close attention._

" _A master mage."_

"… _I don't get it. How is a job training? How does being a barista or something make him a better mage?"_

" _Ho ho! I wonder." Konoemon stroked his beard in that irritating manner which, Naruko had come to understand, meant he wouldn't elaborate any further._

" _How old is he, Konoemon-sama?" Setsuna asked, gaze not wavering from the man as Naruko huffed in irritation. Her eyes slowly narrowed. "He can't be that young if he's graduating from a magical academy." Her words made Naruko perk up._

" _Wait, is he a western mage? Wales is in the west, right?" She looked from Setsuna to the Principal for confirmation. "Never heard about no academy for eastern mages."_

" _Is that important?" Konoemon asked, gaze shooting to Naruko's. It might have been taken as sharp, if not for the fact that his face hadn't changed in the slightest._

" _Nah, just curious." She said, shrugging. "I've had my ears talked off about western mages. My old teacher wouldn't shut up about them. Told her once that we were technically western mages ourselves—cus, you know, western Japan and all that." Naruko snorted. "Didn't like that. Made me meditate for the rest of the day. Boring!"_

" _Ho ho!" Konoemon's eyes sparkled at that. "An interesting perspective."_

" _What, you don't think meditating is boring?"_

" _Back to the point," Setsuna interjected, giving her friend a brief, annoyed look, "how old is he, Konoemon-sama?"_

" _Hmm, let me think." He stroked his beard, looking up in thought. "I believe that he will be…ten this May."_

" _O-Oi, wait a sec!" Naruko interrupted, once again, eyes wide. "He's nine!? And he's training to be a master mage?"_

" _Ah, that reminds me, Naruko-kun, how is your magic training coming along?" Konoemon asked; he sweat-dropped when Naruko started drawing circles on the ground with her finger, facing the wall._

" _...explosions…outta charms…" Tears trailed from her eyes as an aura of depression descended on her hunched form._

" _Nine years old." Setsuna murmured, ignoring her friend's pity party. She thought about it for a bit, then nodded and looked back to Konoemon. "Thank you for taking the time to explain this to us, Konoemon-sama."_

" _Ho ho, of course. After all, your efforts to protect my granddaughter are greatly appreciated, so it would be remiss of me to not inform you of such a change to her situation. Keep up the good work."_

 _Setsuna straightened, a determined glint shining in her eyes. "Yes!"_

"… _nine years old…" Naruko muttered, giving the wall a sullen pout. "Freaking prodigies…"_

* * *

"U-Um, Uzumaki-san?" Negi fidgeted under her intense gaze, beads of sweat running down his neck. "D-Did you say something?"

Naruko blinked, snapping out of her daze. Her face snapped into a scowl, making Negi stiffen. "Just watch it next time!"

"O-Of c-course!"

"Stop giving sensei such a rough time, Naruko-san. It was an accident." Setsuna scolded, frowning at her friend a little. She then turned to Negi and bowed. "Sorry about her, Negi-sensei." As she straightened from her bow, she caught Konoka's eye for an instant; snapping around, she pulled Naruko by the arm. "Come on, Naruko-san, let's get to class."

Nobody caught the hesitant smile starting to form on Konoka's face die, too focused on the retreating duo. Negi in particular was watching them go, wiping sweat from his brow. "T-That was surprisingly intense." He said.

"Ooh! That was close!"

"Gah!" Negi practically jumped out of his skin as Saotome Haruna appeared by his side. He fell against Asuna, who pushed him off with a flustered 'Watch it!'. He thanked Konoka as she helped him regain his balance, her face once again bright and cheery. Readjusting his skewed glasses, he turned to the grinning Haruna, who was accompanied by Yue and their mutual friend, Miyazaki Nodoka. The latter gave a timid wave to Negi, who returned it without really thinking about it, causing the girl to flush and sidle behind Yue.

"Was that necessary?" Yue droned, slurping from an asparagus and cinnamon flavoured juice box and giving her friend a raised eyebrow.

"Not like I meant to scare him or anything." She defended herself, not looking sorry in the slightest. "But I don't blame him being spooked so easy after talking to those two girls."

"Huh, those two girls?" Negi blinked, glancing towards the school. "Do you mean Uzumaki-san and Sakurazaki-san?"

"Here we go." Yue rolled her eyes, taking another sip from her questionable beverage.

"You mean you haven't heard about those two?" Haruna ignored the commentary beside her and tilted her head at Negi. "Those two have a reputation, you know."

"W-What kind of reputation?" Negi gulped, now looking considerably worried.

"Oi, what kind of nonsense are you filling his head with?" Asuna interjected, giving Haruna a sceptical/accusatory glance. "If I have to put up with him being a nervous wreck all day—"

"Those two have a real scary reputation, all right." Haruna steamrolled over Asuna's protests, giving Negi a cheeky grin. "They call those two the Yakuza Sisters of Mahora."

"Y-YAKUZA!?" Negi wailed, going very pale very quick.

Asuna facepalmed. "Great, now he's going to be worked up for ages."

"A-Are they really with the Yakuza?" Negi whimpered, his mind conjuring the image of the two girls wearing suits and evil smirks.

"You're full of it, Haruna." Yue rolled her eyes, finishing off her drink. Nodoka gave Negi a worried look, but ultimately kept quiet.

"Well, they sure do give of that vibe, right?" Haruna said, pulling out her sketchbook and scribbling as she spoke. "Sakurazaki-san is always carrying around that long package on her back—it's obviously a sword, hidden in plain sight! Plus, she always has that stoic look on her face." She flipped the book around, showing a surprisingly decent drawing of Setsuna in a suit and wielding a sword, her face set in a deadly, stoic glare.

"Wow, that's really good." Negi snapped out of his panic to admire the quick drawing, before remembering why he was panicking. "And really scary!" The drawing looked exactly like his imagination had pictured.

"Can I have that?" Konoka said, interrupting Haruna as she opened her mouth. Haruna looked confused, but tore it from her book and handed it over anyway. Konoka slipped it into her pocket, giving Asuna an innocent smile in response to her raised brow.

"And then there's Naruko." Haruna continued, shaking off the strange interruption as only a member of 2-A could. "She's always trying to skip class if she can get away with it—the only teacher she ever listens to is Death Glasses himself, Takahata-sensei. She's super strong too; her Baka power can rival Asuna's any day of the week!"

"Who has Baka power!?" Asuna snapped, and Negi had to hold her back from stomping over to the artist. "And stop spouting all that crap!" She stopped struggling against Negi and huffed, crossing her arms. "Of course she listens to Takahata-sensei. How can anyone not be enraptured when he speaks?" She stared off into the distance, cheeks tinging red as she left the conversation entirely, lost in her fantasies.

Negi sighed in relief at her ceased aggression, letting go of her once he was convinced she wouldn't maul her classmate. Mulling over the conversation, he started to worry about the potential for Naruko skipping class, but then he remembered what Haruna said about Takamichi. 'That's right, when Asuna-san mentioned Takamichi to her, Uzumaki-san stayed when she wanted to leave. She's attended classes so far, but if she tries to skip then I can just mention Takamichi again.'

He relaxed, but tensed again when Haruna revealed another drawing. This one was of Naruko, also in a suit, donning a terrifying grin beneath crazed, glowering eyes. Any confidence about keeping her in line vanished. "How strong is Uzumaki-san, exactly?" He saw Asuna's Baka Power on a regular basis—if Naruko could rival Asuna…that was a scary thought.

"They say she once lifted a car off the ground to retrieve a 100 Yen coin that rolled underneath it." Haruna said, leaning in and speaking behind her hand. "And one time, she broke the blackboard when she got frustrated in maths class. Split it right down the middle with a piece of chalk!"

"E-EH!?" Negi paled. "T-that's way too much!"

"Don't exaggerate, Haruna." Yue rolled her eyes, looking to Negi with the motion.

"She's exaggerating?" Negi started to relax.

"Yeah—she broke it with the teacher's chair, not with chalk."

Negi paled.

"U-Umm." Nodoka peaked from behind Yue and gave the group at large a concerned look. "W-We should hurry, or we're going to be l-late to class."

"Ah, you're right!" Asuna gasped, looking at the time. She grabbed Negi by the collar, choking him as she ran. "Like hell I'm letting Takahata-sensei find out I was late!"

"Ahh! Asuna! You're choking Negi-kun!"

"Wow, sensei's going blue!"

"N-N-Negi-sensei!"

Yue sighed, slurping her drink with a dead expression. "RIP, Sensei."

* * *

"—and so, by putting the comma here, you completely change the intention behind the sentence." Negi said, the chalk in his hand scraping against the blackboard as he wrote out the example. He sighed in relief as he re-centred himself on his footstall. He had been dangerously close to falling off as he finished writing out the sentence, but he hadn't wanted the Class Rep to get up and offer to move the footstall to the side again. It was embarrassing.

Stepping off the stool, he looked out across his class, trying to decide who to call on for an answer. Many of the girls looked away as he tried to make eye contact with them. Glancing over Asuna, the promise of pain in her eyes had him swiftly moving on. Though the two had come to an agreement, it didn't mean that she wanted him to call out on her in class again.

Looking to the back of the room, he noticed that Naruko was looking out the window on the other side of the room. Her expression screamed of boredom, and he could see that she hadn't even cracked open the book for today's class. He gulped as he recalled their interaction earlier that morning, as well as the rumours that Haruna had shared with him. Still, he was determined to be the best teacher these girls could have, so engaging Naruko in the lesson could only benefit her. Especially as she wasn't paying attention in the first place.

"Ahn, U-Uzumaki-san, could you tell me how the meaning of this sentence," he pointed at the blackboard, where the sentence, 'Cynthia's daughter, Sarah, is a midwife' was written, "changes by removing the commas?"

The class perked up and followed his line of sight, watching as Naruko jerked into awareness at being addressed.

"Huh? What?"

Negi repeated the question, a bead of sweat sliding down his temple.

Naruko stared at him with a blank expression, for several seconds, before clicking her tongue. "I don't even get what you're saying. How the hell am I supposed to know that?"

"Naruko-san! Refrain from speaking to Negi-sensei in such a manner." Yukihiro Ayaka, the Class Rep of 2-A, leapt to her feet and pointed at Naruko. "If you do not understand the question, just say so, so that Negi-sensei can move on with the lesson."

"What was that?" Naruko growled, standing up as well. "Maybe he shouldn't waste everyone's time by asking me a question I'm obviously not gonna get."

"The only one wasting anyone's time here is you!"

"Fine, then I'll just leave so your precious Negi-sensei can carry on."

"Why you…" Ayaka growled, her refined demeanour cracking at the seams. The Class Rep took a step forwards as Naruko moved to the door near her desk. "Don't you dare leave this room, Naruko-san!"

"Bite me!"

Negi floundered in place, his attempt at engaging Naruko having completely derailed. The closer Naruko got to the door, the more flustered he got, until, "U-Uzumaki-san! I-I'll tell Takamichi that you left in the middle of class!"

Naruko froze in place. Slowly, she turned her head to face Negi, her blue eyes intense in their glare. Negi flinched, pure fear the only thing keeping his mouth from opening to take it back. Images flew through his mind, like Naruko in a suit throwing her chair at his face or breaking the blackboard in half over his head. Thoughts of being cornered in an alley by a group of thugs, seeking vengeance for their Aneki. Then, she turned back around and returned to her seat. She sat with her arms crossed, her eyes set dead on him.

Satisfied that the situation had been resolved, Ayaka returned to her seat and resumed her adoring gaze on Negi.

Feeling two incredibly different looks boring into the back of his head, Negi continued the lesson. Despite having succeeded in keeping Naruko in the room, he didn't feel very successful.

Chapter End

* * *

Omake: Kyoto Babies Pt 2

Once again, Setsuna was back at her daily grind of practicing her sword techniques. Ever since her failure a year ago, she had dedicated every free moment to improving her skills with the blade. Her diligent practice had led to stellar results, and she had already mastered all the basic kendo stances. Today she was training with a bokken. The added weight meant that it was as close as she could get to using a real sword, until she could get one of her own.

Once again, she heard the dojo's door opening, and this time she made sure to check who was there. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Naruko standing in the entrance. Her arms were crossed, and she held a confident expression on her face. Setsuna ignored her and continued her practice.

Naruko's brow twitched. "Oi, sword-freak!"

Nothing. Just the swishing of her bokken.

"I'm here to finish what we started the other day!"

More swishing.

"Hey stop ignoring me, dattebayo!" Naruko stomped her foot childishly. Setsuna's sharp hearing caught the sound of wood creaking. The sound made her calf throb in remembrance of the strength in those feet. "I'm challenging you to a fight here!"

"I don't engage in pointless fights." Was Setsuna's curt reply, eyes doggedly focused on her bokken. "The other day was a mistake. I let your pig-headedness goad me. It won't happen again."

"Sounds to me like you're just scared. Don't wanna lose again, huh?"

"I did not lose." Setsuna found herself snapping back. With a frown, she put extra effort into her swings. "It wasn't even a proper fight. If it was, you would stand no chance." Her frown became deeper. Why was she giving her the satisfaction of responding? The fact that this obnoxious girl was goading any kind of response from her only irritated her further.

"You're just a big chicken. Bwak bwak." Naruko started imitating a chicken flapping its wings. "You're just a tiny yakitori."

Setsuna glared out the corner of her eye, focusing especially one the blonde's attempt at mimicking a chicken. Her grip on the bokken tightened. "You want a spar? Fine." She turned on her heel, pointing her bokken at Naruko's throat. "This time it won't go your way."

"I'm gonna stomp ya!" Naruko charged her in the same manner as before. Setsuna was prepared to block another punch, but Naruko surprised her by doing a sliding tackle. Still, Setsuna managed to jump over the sliding blonde. Landing on her feet, she listened as Naruko jumped to her feet and charged once again.

Naruko gasped as she found the tip of a bokken digging into her stomach. Setsuna, holding the weapon in a reverse grip, had rammed it into her without even turning. Not giving her time to recover, Setsuna span around and whacked the bokken into the side of Naruko's head. The blow sent Naruko falling to the floor, clutching her head in pain.

"Ahh, bitch!"

"Last time you managed to catch me off guard and sweep my feet from under me. This time, I wasn't going to take any chances. You won't catch me off guard again." Looking out the window, she noticed that it had gotten quite late into the afternoon. Realising it was almost time for dinner, Setsuna left the dojo, not looking back.

Naruko groaned as she pulled herself to her feet. She glared at the open door. "Damn sword-freak." Her frown turned into a sly smirk. "Won't catch you off-guard again, eh? Challenge accepted."

Omake End

* * *

 **So…yeah. This story got an update. Um…surprise?**

 **So I was thinking about Negima a bit ago, and I got the urge to look at the stuff I had prepared for this chapter before I gave up on this story. After reading what I had written, I really liked what I had done. Like, I had 4076 words written out of the 4874 that make up this chapter—including the omake—already written. Plus, I have 1000 words or so that I took from this draft to put into chapter 3. The only reason a chapter 2 didn't happen back then was because I got lazy and unmotivated and lost interest.**

 **I think that maybe all I needed was time away from this story, and time to get over the stupid ending of Naruto. I kind of want to work on this story again, because there's something about Negima fanfics that make me feel warm and satisfied. Like eating a filling meal.**

 **But yeah, again, I really, really liked what I had written for this story, and I found my old notes for later in the story and liked those too. It might be fun revisiting an old idea. Unlike Golden Spyral, this is an old story I abandoned, rather than a new story entirely. I have very fond memories of planning SN32, and even this story to an extent.**

 **So yeah, I want to see where this goes. I decided to finish a chapter 2 even if I'm unsure where it'll go from here. I kinda want to see if putting this out there pushes me to work on it more.**

 **Also, any chance to write Setsuna and Chisame is a chance I'm going to leap at haha.**

 **So, um, if anyone did read this, please tell me what you think? Maybe? Just a thought…**


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